Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering (설비공학논문집)

The Society of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineers of Korea (대한설비공학회)
권호 표지

Performance of R502 Alternative Refrigerants for Low Temperature Applications

저온용 R502 대체냉매의 성능 평가

  • 하종철 (인하대학교 대학원 기계공학과) ;
  • 황지환 (인하대학교 대학원 기계공학과) ;
  • 백인철 (인하대학교 대학원 기계공학과) ;
  • 정동수 (인하대학교 기계공학과)
  • Published : 2005.10.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

In this study, 2 pure hydrocarbon refrigerants of R1270 (Propylene) and R290 (Propane) and 3 binary mixtures composed of R1270, R29O and R152a were tested in a refrigerating bench tester with a scroll compressor in an attempt to substitute R502 used in most of the low temperature applications. The test bench provided 3\sim3.5$ kW capacity and water and water/glycol mixture were employed as the secondary heat transfer fluids. All tests were conducted under the same external conditions resulting in the average saturation temperatures of -28 and $45^{\circ}C$ in the evaporator and condenser, respectively. Test results showed that all refrigerants tested had $9.6\sim18.7\%$ higher capacity and $17.1\sim27.3\%$ higher COP than R502. The compressor discharge temperature of R1270 was similar to that of R502 while those of all other refrigerants were $23.7\sim27.9\%$ lower than that of R502. For all alternative refrigerants, the amount of charge was reduced up to $60\%$ as compared to R502. Overall, these alternative refrigerants offer better system performance and reliability than R502 and can be used as long term substitutes for R502 due to their excellent environmental properties.

Keywords

References

  1. Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1989, Final Act, United Nations Environment Programme
  2. Snelson, K. W., Linton, J. W., Triebe, A. R. and Hearty, P. F., 1995, System drop-in tests of refrigerant blend R-125/R-143a/R-134a (44%/52%/4%) compared to R-502, ASHRAE Trans, Vol. 101, Part 1, pp.17-34
  3. Aprea, C. and Mastrullo, R., 1995, Behaviour and performances of R502 alternative working fluids in refrigerating plants, Int. J. Refrigeration, Vol. 19, No.4, pp.257-263 https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-7007(96)00012-6
  4. Global Environmental Change Report, 1997, A Brief Analysis of the Kyoto Protocol, Vol. IX, No. 24, December
  5. Cox, N., 2004, Energy comparison of a ground source heat pump using hydrocarbon refrigerants, Prod. of the 6th IIR Gustav Lorentzen Natural Working Fluids Conference, Glasgow, UK
  6. Private Communication with N. Cox at Earthcare Products, London, UK, 2004. 8
  7. Kruse, H., 1996, The stats of the art of the hydrocarbon technology in household refrigeration, Proc. of the Int. Conferences on Ozone Protection Technologies, Washington, DC, pp. 179-188
  8. Jung, D., Song, Y. and Park, B., 2000, Testing of propane/isobutane mixture in domestic refrigerators, Int. J. Refrigeration, Vol. 23, pp.517-527 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-7007(99)00084-5
  9. Int. Energy Agency's Heat Pump Center., 2002, Informative fact sheet: Hydrocarbons as refrigerants in residential heat pumps and air-conditioners
  10. Mulroy, W., Kauffeld, M., McLinden, M. O. and Didion, D. A., 1988, Experimental evaluation of two refrigerant mixtures in a bread-board air conditioner, Proc. of Int. Inst. Refrigeration, Purdue Conference on CFCs, Commissions B1, B2, E1 & E2, pp.27-34
  11. Didion, D. A. and Bivens, D. B., 1990, Role of refrigerant mixtures as alternatives to CFCs, Int. J. Refrigeration, Vol. B, pp. 163-175
  12. Radermacher, R. and Jung, D., 1993, Theoretical analysis of replacement refrigerants for R22 for residential uses, ASHRAE Trans., Vol. 99, Part 1, pp. 333-343
  13. McLinden, M. O., Klein, S. A., Lemmon, E. W. and Peskin, A. P., 1998, NIST thermodynamics and transport properties of refrigerants and refrigerant mixtures, REFPROP Version 6.0
  14. Maclaine-cross, I. L. and Leonardi, E., 1997, Why hydrocarbons save energy?, Australian AIRAH Journal, Vol. 51, pp.33-37